Selecto-hinge door



y 15, 1959 K. K. KESLING ETAL 3,455,061

SELBCTO-HINGE DOOR Filed Oct. 5. 1967 INVENTORS ATTORNEY July 15, 1969 K. K. KESLING ETAL 3,455,061

SELECTO-HINGE DOOR Filed Oct. 5, 1967 heats-Sheet INVENTORS ziizd /f. (ZS/i1: BY 0 6: Matt 6M4. Mg

ATTORNEY United States Patent US. Cl. 49-382 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In the preferred form, a refrigerator cabinet is pro vided with horizontal hinge supporting bars above, below and between the upper and lower doors. These bars are provided at their opposite ends with hinge pin sockets or apertures. The upper door is provided with individually slidable hinge pins at the four corners which are locked by screws which pass through reversible plates and slots into the inner extremities of the hinge pins. The lower door has a set of upper hinge pin sockets and a lower set of individually slidable hinge pins, either or both of which may be moved into a position projecting into the hinge pin sockets of the lower support bar. Either or both of the upper pins in the upper door may be moved into position projecting into the hinge pin sockets in the support bar above the door. Either or both of the hinge pins at the bottom of the upper door may be moved into position extending through the hinge pin socket in the support bars between the doors into the socket in the upper portion of the lower door.

This invention relates to door hinging arrangements for left and right hand door openings. In many kitchen arrangements it is more convenient to open the door from the left side while in many others the opposite is true. During shipping or moving it is necessary to provide some auxiliary means to assure the holding of all doors in the closed position.

It is an object of this invention to provide a simple safe, fool-proof arrangement wherein both single and double doors may be selectively arranged for either right or left hand door operation and also arranged for positively holding the doors closed during shipping or moving.

This and other objects are attained in the form shown in the drawings wherein the hinge pins are slidably arranged so as to be readily locked in either a projecting position or a retracted position in or out of engagement with the hinge pin sockets for left or right hand door openings. For moving or shipping, all the hinge pins engage their sockets to positively prevent the opening of the doors.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a two door refrigerator cabinet embodying one form of my invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the upper portion of the upper door with the hinge and socket portions shown in section;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary view largely in vertical section showing the upper and lower hinge pins for the lower door;

FIGURE 4 is a right side view of the upper door and the upper portion of the lower door; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary exploded perspective view of one of the hinge pins and the fastening arrangement with the hinge pin turned 90 on a vertical axis so as to show the slot therein.

Referring now more particularly to FIGURE 1, there is shown a two door refrigerator cabinet 20' provided with an upper door 22 and a lower door 24. Above the upper door there is provided a laterally extending upper support bar 26 containing the hinge pin sockets or apertures 28 and 30 at its opposite ends. As shown in FIGURE 4, the opposite ends of this bar 26 rest on top of the cabinet and are fastened thereto by the screws 32. This bar has slots 33 through which the screws 32 pass providing an arrangement for adjusting the location of the sockets or apertures 28 and 30.

Beneath the lower door 24 there is provided a similar support bar 34 similarly provided with hinge pin sockets 36 at its opposite end. This bar 34 is likewise fastened to the cabinet structure in any suitable manner such as by suitable screws 38.

In between the upper and lower doors 22 and 24 there is also provided a laterally extending support bar 40 provided with a flange or ears by which it is fastened by the screws 42 to the adjacent portions of the cabinet 20. This support bar 40 is also provided with a pair of hinge pin sockets 44 adjacent its opposite ends.

Each of the doors is provided with a peripheral flange designated 46 for the lower door and 48 for the upper door. The upper portion of the flange 46 of the lower door 24 is provided on each side with a flanged ferrule 50 forming a set of hinge pin sockets which are aligned with the hinge pin sockets 44 in the intermediate or common support bar 40. The bottoms of the ferrules 50 are closed by the caps 51.

The hinge pins 52 are all similar. They may be molded of nylon with a steel reinforcement in the center. The hinge pins for the top and bottom support bars 26 and 34 are identical to the pin shown in FIGURE 5. They include a larger cylindrical portion 54 at one end of which is a truncated portion 56 similar in diameter and with a square shoulder between them. At the opposite end of the cylindrical portion 54 is an anchoring portion 58 which includes a set for axially parallel projections 60 between which there is a slot 62. The bottom of this slot 62 is provided with a curved surface 64. At a central portion of the curved surface there is provided a threaded aperture 66. The cylindrical portion 54 of each of the hinge pins 52 fits in a bearing 68 provided with a flange at one end which is fastened to the inner surface of either of the peripheral flanges 46 or 48 of the doors as shown in detail in FIG- URES 2 and 3. The set of hinge pins 70 for the intermediate or common support 40 are similar to the hinge pins 52 and similarly fit in the bearings 68 with the exception that the projecting truncated portion 72 is longer so that they have suflicient length to extend through the sockets 44 in the intermediate or common support bar 40 into the socket or ferrule 50 in the top of the flange 46 of the lower door 24.

The hinge pins 52 at the bottom of the lower door 24 extend downwardly through the bearings 68 and the apertures in the flange 46 into the sockets 36 in the lower support bar 34 with their flat shoulders 74 serving as a thrust bearing resting upon the upper face of the lower support bar 34. Opposite the curve 64 in each of the hinge pins 52 or 70 is a vertical slot 76 provided in the adjacent portion of the door flange 46 or 48. These slots receive the projections 78 provided in the inner face of each of the reversible plates 80.

Each projection 78 at one end is provided with a cam surface 82 which is provided for camming the plate 80 upwardly so that in the projecting position the hinge pins 52 or 70 will be cammed to their fully projected position by the engagement of the 0am surface with the adjacent end of the slot 76 whenever the reversible plate 80 is clamped against the outer face of either of the flanges 46 or 48.

This camming is also effective in the reverse position of the plate 80 to fully retract the hinge pins 52 or 70. This clamping is accomplished by the flat head screws 84 which pass through the aperture 86 at the opposite end of each projection 78 from the cam surface 82 and through each of the slots 76 into the threaded apertures 66 in the adjacent hinge pins 52. The projections 60 fit on opposite sides of the projections 78 against the inner face of the door flanges 48 and 46. The screws 84 force the projections 78 and particularly their cam surfaces 82 against the adjacent ends of the slots 76 so as to earn the screws 84 and the hinge pins 52 toward the opposite end of the slots 76. The screws 84 also clamp the projections tightly against the inner surface of the flanges 48 and 46 so as to hold the hinge pins firmly in position.

Within the insulation space 105 of the upper door 22 the hinge pins 52 and 70 may be separated from the remaining insulation space by hollow blocks 106 of foam resin which may be held in place by an adhesive such as mastic to provide a moisture barrier. The remainder of the insulating space in each door may be filled with either glass fiber or polyurethane foam insulation.

The doors 22 and 24 are each provided with handles 88, 90, 92 and 94 upon both side edges. These handles and/ or trim 88 to 94 may be provided with side flanges 96 which are fastened to the side edges of the doors by the flat head screws 98.

After the cabinet is assembled and is ready for shipment, the upper and lower doors 22 and 24 are applied and all the hinge pins 52 and 70 are moved into their respective hinge pin sockets and securely fastened by the screws 84 to firmly hold the door in the closed position on all sides. This eliminates any need for placing straps around the cabinet to hold the door closed during shipment. This arrangement may also be used for any subsequent movement of the cabinet at any time during its life.

When the cabinet is delivered to the customer and moved into the desired position in the kitchen, the customer can then decide Wh6th6l it is more convenient for the doors to open from either the left or the right side. The serviceman or installation man can then loosen the screws 84 on the door opening side until the reversible plates 80 are sufliciently loose that the projections 78 can be removed from the slots 76. The hinge pins are then lowered or raised by applying a light force onto the reversible plates 80 until they are fully retracted into the door as indicated by the reference characters 99 in FIG- URES 1 and 2. The reversible plates 80 are then reversed 180 and tightened to hold the hinge pins in their retracted position. The doors 22 and 24 can then be opened by grasping the handles 88 and 92 on their left sides and pulled to the fully open position designated by the reference characters 101 and 102. However, should the user decide at any time that a door opening from the right side is more desirable, the positions of the hinge pins may be readily reversed by reversing the plates 80 so that the doors may be opened to the positions indicated by the reference characters 103 and 104. Thus, by this simple, safe arrangement the doors may be locked closed for shipping and moving and by a simple adjustment may be arranged to open from either side.

While the embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted.

What is claimed is:

1. A door including a face and a peripheral edge provided with an aperture in a horizontal portion of said peripheral edge and a slot in an adjacent vertical edge portion thereof a hinge pin assembly having a pin extending through said aperture having an operating position in which a portion projects beyond the aperture and a retracted position in which the projecting portion is substantially reduced, a reversible plate having a projecting cam portion extending into and fitting one end portion of said slot and further having a fastener receiving aperture adjacent said projecting cam portion, said hinge pin assembly further having a portion extending adjacent said slot, said hinge pin portion and said projecting cam portion on said reversible plate having complementary contacting surfaces, and a threaded fastener extending through an aperture in said reversible plate and through said slot and engaging said hinge pin assembly portion for clamping said hinge pin assembly to said vertical edge of the door in either of said operating or retracted positions.

2. A door including a face and a periphery having side and horizontal edge portions, said periphery being provided with a first aperture in said horizontal edge portion and a second aperture in a side edge portion, a hinge pin extending through said first aperture having an operating position in which a portion projects beyond the first aperture and a retracted position in which the projecting portion is substantially reduced, a reversible plate located on the outside of one of said side edge portions having an inwardly extending projection extending into said second aperture, said reversible plate having a third aperture located off the center of said projection and said second aperture, said reversible plate being reversible to place said third aperture in a different position, and a threaded fastener extending through said third aperture of said plate, through the second aperture and into engagement with said hinge pin for clamping said hinge pin to said reversible plate in at least two positions of said reversible plate and in the operating position and the retracted position of said hinge pin.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 593,636 11/1897 Bamberger 3l2326 XR 852,770 5/1907 Campbell 312-l09 2,086,529 7/1937 Bontemps 16-176 XR 3,262,745 7/1966 GOlZer et al 16-171 XR 3,378,954 4/1968 Sandin 49382 KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

